Raymond Rollinat

rdf:langString Raymond Rollinat

rdf:langString Pierre André Marie Raymond Rollinat (2 September 1859, Saint-Gaultier – 27 December 1931) was a French herpetologist. He was related to the poet, Maurice Rollinat (1846-1903). As a young boy, Rollinat learned a love of animals from his great-uncle, an amateur ornithologist, and while a high school student in Châteauroux, he trained under a local taxidermist. As an adult, except for a period of time spent in the military, he lived his entire life in Argenton-sur-Creuse, where he kept a laboratory with a large adjacent garden. In his garden he set up various enclosures and vivaria in order to observe animal behavior close-up. Rollinat was dedicated to research of vertebrates native to central France, in particular reptiles and amphibians. His work included studies of breeding habits, hibernation, hatching of eggs and embryonic development. He took particular interest in the habits of the European pond turtle, which was one of a number of local species that he devoted an in-depth life history to. During his career he maintained correspondence with fellow herpetologists, George Albert Boulenger (1858-1937), Willy Wolterstorff (1864-1943) and Mario Giacinto Peracca (1861-1923).